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Balkan migrant route closed for good, says Austria

The Western Balkan migrant route will remain closed permanently, Austrian interior minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner has told German newspaper Die Welt. "My position is clear: the Balkan route remains closed and that is permanent,” she said. Several countries along the route have introduced strict border controls to deter migrants.

Central European countries say they have "nothing to hide" on rule of law issues - while justice commissioner Vera Jourova said they should agree to the Commission's controversial budget plans on rule of law conditionality.

Giovanni Buttarelli, the European data protection supervisor, says the EU-US data sharing pact known as Privacy Shield will play an increasingly minor role given the general data protection regulation.